On The Tragedy In Las Vegas …

October 2, 2017

By Jill Dennison - usa

Last night in Las Vegas, at least 58 people were killed and at least another 515 injured when a lone gunman, using automatic weapons, began shooting from the window of his hotel room at concert-goers in an open arena across the street from the hotel. Not many facts are available yet, thus I will mention this only briefly, for I prefer to base my writing on verifiable facts. The one fact that is known is that the gunman, Stephen Paddock, was a 64-year old local man who shot and killed himself in his hotel room. Weapons and ammunition were found in both his hotel room and his home.

The one thing I will mention is that Daesh (aka ISIS) almost immediately claimed responsibility for this act, but there is no evidence whatsoever that they are involved in any way. There is no trail of online searches or communications, and according to the FBI, the initial evidence indicates that this man, a white U.S. citizen, acted on his own.

I urge all to be extremely cautious about listening to the many conspiracy theories that are sure to abound on such venues as Fox News, Breitbart, and from certain persons within our government. Until more facts are known, I urge all to assume nothing and to shut down those who begin, as I expect, spouting hate against people of Middle Eastern descent, or using this tragedy as propaganda in support of the NRA agenda. Listening to theories that have no basis in fact is part of the reason this nation is already so divided, and this event must not become the catalyst for further division. It is an easy trap to fall into, especially when it is spoon-fed to us, but please, wait for the facts and make no assumptions.

Meanwhile, this is a tragedy and my heart breaks for the victims and their families. Let us focus on that, and only that, until the facts are i